Good News
by Athena Alexandria
Summary: Juliet wants to give good news again, but good for who? Jate/Jacket.
1. Chapter 1

After getting three reviews in two days, I didn't see the point of updating "Going Back", especially when I'm already having one of the crappiest weekends of my life, so I decided to post this instead. I love Juliet, so I wanted to try my hand at writing Jacket, but I can never bring myself to turn my back on Jate, so what we we're left with is Juliet angst based on the quote from D.O.C. about good news. It's set some time after season three, when Jack and Kate are together... ;)

* * *

GOOD NEWS

Chapter 1.

"_Once upon a time, I told women that they were pregnant and their faces, it was the best news they ever got in their entire life. Then I came here. I've lost, nine, patients in the last three years. I'm helping you because I want to tell you that you and your husband got pregnant before you came here. I'm helping you because I wanna give good news again."_

Something had changed between them. Juliet wasn't sure what, or how she knew, but it was different; _they_ were different.

For one thing, they were always together now.

She'd see them walking along the beach of a morning, close enough that their shoulders bumped, their hands brushed, their legs travelling in perfect sync.

When evening came they would settle by the glow of the same fire, sometimes laughing, sometimes silent, but always together.

She never stayed long enough to find out what happened next.

Watching Kate emerge from the jungle alone, Juliet wasn't surprised when Jack cut his conversation with Claire short and jogged up to meet her. If one of the other survivors wandered off, it could take him hours to notice, but somehow with Kate, he always knew where she was… or at least, where she wasn't.

She looked nervous, shifting her weight and fidgeting as she spoke. He grew concerned, his brow furrowing as he touched her arm, and she dropped her hands, flashing him a guarded smile. Juliet wasn't sure what they were talking about, but when they both shot furtive glances in her direction, she realised that it whatever it was, she was somehow involved. Or would be; Jack started towards her, but Kate pulled him back, and seconds later, they traded places.

Once it became apparent that Kate was on her way over to her, Juliet pretended not to notice, staring out at the horizon even when she dropped into the sand beside her, drawing her knees up to her chest. She wasn't interested in hearing what she was going to accuse her of this time; she thought that if she waited, maybe Kate would take the hint and go back to Jack, but she didn't, sitting in silence for so long that Juliet began to wonder if there wasn't another reason for her visit.

"Nice day, isn't it?" Kate said after a long moment, forcing a smile, "Kinda makes you wish you'd packed your bathing suit," and it was then that Juliet realised she had no intention of confronting her.

She wanted something.

She was working her way up to asking, but Juliet wasn't in the mood for games. "You and I both know you didn't come here to talk about the weather, Kate," she told her. "So how about we just cut to the chase? What are you really doing here?"

As much as she disliked her, Juliet's respect for the younger woman increased when she dropped the pretence and turned to meet her eyes. "I want you to do some tests, like you did for Sun," she confessed, and Juliet lost her sense of superiority when it occurred to her why Kate was asking her and not Jack.

"You're pregnant," she guessed, doing her best to keep the hurt from her tone. Right now Kate thought Juliet was the one who had something she wanted; Juliet wasn't about to give her a reason to question that.

Seeing her troubled look as she stared back out to sea, Juliet felt a glimmer of hope. "Does he know – Sawyer?"

"Sawyer has nothing to do with this," Kate assured her, causing Juliet's heart to sink even further this time. So she was right, there was something going on between them; more than something, _everything_. "And I'm not sure – that's why I need you to do the tests."

"So what you're saying is, you want _me_ to help _you_?" Juliet repeated, an ironic grin spreading over her face. She might have laughed, if she didn't feel like someone had just sucker punched her in the stomach, forcing all of the air from her lungs.

"If it makes a difference, Jack was going to ask you, but I told him I thought it would mean more coming from me," Kate continued, and Juliet wondered if she was trying to rub it in. Not that she needed to; her just being there was enough.

She wanted to say no now that she'd learned how, but she'd taken an oath, not just to her patients, but to herself, not to let any more women die on this island. "We're going to need to go to the medical station," she told her with a sigh. "That's where all my equipment is."

* * *

The sun was low in the sky by the time Juliet pushed open the heavy doors, poking her head inside and listening to make sure that it was still abandoned. 

She would have preferred that it was just the two of them – Kate on her own she could handle – but Jack had insisted on coming; once she was sure that the coast was clear, she waved them through into the tunnel.

She had to wait for them to pass before she could seal the entrance again, her vantage point behind them allowing her to note the way Jack picked up Kate's hand, squeezing it. Watching their fingers twine together, she tried to imagine what it would be like to be loved by someone like him, to have his strong arms comfort her, and be at the heart of his protective urges. She wondered if Kate knew how lucky she was.

Not for the first time, she wished she wasn't so busy fighting for her life back in the real world that she'd missed her chance at one in this one.

"I just wanna thank you again for doing this for us, Juliet," Jack told her, turning back to her with a warm smile, almost as if sensing her thoughts.

"Sure. No problem," she heard herself say before she could formulate a more honest answer, feeling like the same shy, mousy woman who'd watched her ex husband traipse around with girls half his age. "Right this way."

She led them into the examination room, gesturing for Kate to climb up onto the bed, relaxing when Jack was forced to let go of her hand. Knowing was bad enough; she didn't need to see proof.

"I'm going to need some blood, for a blood test," she told Kate as she washed her hands and took out a syringe, and to her credit, she didn't argue, sticking out her arm, biting down on her bottom lip and turning away, towards Jack, as the needle went in.

He put a hand on Kate's shoulder, but as she moved over to the bench, Juliet saw him shift it to her waist, crouching down to speak to her in a low voice.

She couldn't hear what he was saying, but whatever it was, it seemed to reassure her; she found their reflections in a surgical tray in time to see Kate smile, resting her forehead against his as they snuck in a couple of short kisses. They didn't seem to realise that she could still see them, or if they did, they didn't care.

So it was with something bordering on retribution that she announced, "You're definitely pregnant," taking a strange kind of pleasure in the way their expressions changed, becoming grave, Kate's eyes filling with tears.

"What happens now?" she asked her, and seeing how small and frightened she looked, Juliet found herself softening towards her. She didn't want her to die; far from it; but their happiness made her unhappy, especially when she wasn't convinced that after everything she'd put him through, it was what Kate deserved.

"I'm going to do a sonogram so we can see what we're dealing with," she explained, motioning for Kate to lie back as she pulled the monitor closer, and with Jack's help, she did, bunching up her tank top to expose the taut skin beneath her navel.

"This is going to be cold," Juliet told her as she squirted out thin line of gel, rolling the wand back and forth until she heard the steady thrum that was all too familiar to her.

"There it is – there's your baby," she said, half to them, and half to herself, circling the grainy mass with her fingertip. But for the first time in her career, she didn't share their excitement; she felt left out as she watched Kate grip Jack's hand, beaming at him even as she began to lose her composure.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," he murmured, choking back a sob of his own as he smoothed the bangs from her temples. "I'm gonna get you out of here. I won't let anything happen to you – you or our baby – you know that right?"

Kate nodded, bursting into fresh tears as he leant in to seal his promise with a tender kiss. "We're having a baby," she whispered with a laugh when he pulled back, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck.

They seemed to have forgotten that she was there, so propping the wand up so that the picture remained on the screen, Juliet slipped out into the locker room, closing the door and letting her back fall against it.

She'd given them good news, just like she'd wanted, but good for who?


	2. Chapter 2

Since I was asked by so many of you to continue, I've decided to incorporate a storyline I've never been able to fit anywhere else. Much of the credit goes to SassyLostie for assuring me that it was a good idea and for helping me brainstorm.

And for those of you who are interested, I'm halfway through writing the next chapter of "Going Back", so you should have that sometime in the next twenty four hours...;)

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Chapter 2. 

Surrounded by tools he'd used to save more lives than he could keep tally of, it was easy for Jack to forget where they were and what was at stake.

But lying in his tent with Kate that night, seeing the tiny smile that played at the corners of her lips as she dreamt, he found it harder to shut out the voice that insisted he'd made a mistake when he promised her that it would all be okay; that all he'd done in saying those words was give her false hope.

He wanted to believe that he could save her, but almost six months had passed and they were still no closer to rescue. She would be dead in less than half that – her and the baby they both wanted more than anything – unless he could find a way to keep that from happening…

When the thought crept into his mind in the early hours of the morning, he almost couldn't bring himself to entertain it, his guilt increasing as she sighed and reached for him in her sleep, her fingers tangling in the fabric of his shirt. By giving herself over to him, allowing herself to contemplate a future together, she was putting her trust in him, and here he was about to betray that.

He knew he couldn't face her while he was still so conflicted, so he waited for her hand to go lax, kissing her temple and slipping out of the tent before he had to see how content she looked when she woke up.

He was going to go for a run along the beach to clear his head, but without any conscious decision to do so, he found himself knocking on the frame of a tent at the edge of the campsite, shifting his weight as he waited its occupant to emerge.

"Jack?" Juliet asked, her voice sleepy and disoriented when she poked her head out, squinting at him in the early morning light. "Is everything okay?"

She woke fully when she registered his expression, pushing the hair back from her eyes as she stumbled out onto the beach. "Is Kate…?"

"She's fine," he assured her when she started to move in the direction of his tent, not sure where to begin now that she was standing in front of him. He decided that his best bet was just to plough straight ahead. "I actually had a question I wanted to ask you."

"Sure – ask away," she told him with an encouraging smile, and for a moment, he was tempted to make something up; something about diet or exercise or coping with morning sickness; anything to make him feel less disgusted with himself.

But that wouldn't solve anything. It wouldn't take away the fear.

He shifted again, forcing himself to meet her eyes as he said, "You've been on this island three years, and none of your patients made it past the second trimester – you must've come up with a safe method for helping them—" he swallowed hard, choking on the next word "—_terminate_ their pregnancies if they decided not to go ahead with them…"

Juliet looked taken aback, thrown by this question, and Jack couldn't blame her; last she'd heard he and Kate were both scared but determined.

"Just so we're clear, what you're asking is, have I ever performed an abortion on a woman on this island?" she checked, her piercing blue gaze boring into his, and Jack thought he caught a hint of disapproval in her tone.

Licking his lips, he gave her a slight nod, to let her know that this was exactly what he was asking.

"Ben would kill me if he knew, but yes," she agreed, wrapping her arms around herself defensively. "Some of the women asked me, and as their doctor, I had to respect their wishes."

"Were they surgical?" he asked, afraid that he'd come up against another dead end. He'd tried and failed enough times to know that even the risks involved in minor surgery were magnified in a place like this. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many ways he could still end up losing her: she could bleed out or contract a life-threatening infection and it would all be for nothing.

He relaxed when Juliet shook her head. "No, I used a synthetic steroid compound – mifepristone. You'd know it as the abortion pill," she explained. "It takes longer, but it's less dangerous for the mother." She flashed him an ironic smile. "It's also easier to pass off as a miscarriage."

"And they were okay?" he pressed, ignoring her attempt at humour. "None of them had any complications?"

"None that I know of. What's this about, Jack?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, answering her own question when she added, "Does Kate know you're here?"

"No," he agreed, overcome by a fresh wave of shame for suggesting something so unthinkable. "She doesn't."

"Shouldn't you be having this conversation with her?" she reminded him, looking uncomfortable about getting involved in something that was obviously between him and Kate.

"I can't," he confessed, his stomach twisting into painful knots, struggling to keep an objective distance now that they were no longer speaking in empirical terms. "She's happy – I've never seen her this happy."

"And you're not?" Juliet supplied, more gently this time, leading him away from the campsite, her serious look free of any outward sign of judgement, and he was grateful to her for not making him feel worse than he already did.

"I know you agreed to help us, but can you honestly tell me that she won't end up like the others?" he asked her, willing her to give him a reason to change his mind. "That she'll survive this?"

She looked sad as she answered, "You know I can't, Jack."

"Then no," he agreed. "How could I be?"

Juliet stared out to sea for a moment, waging a silent battle with herself, and then to his surprise, she nodded. "I can get you the pills, but I want you to promise me that whatever she does with them, it'll be her choice. You can't make her do this, and you can't do this to her."

Kate could be so stubborn when she thought she was right; the thought of mixing them in with her food was tempting, but he knew that Juliet was right. He couldn't do that to her.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Jack," Juliet said once he'd convinced her that he wouldn't make her regret it. "If she thinks you aren't willing to support her, you could lose her too."

After everything he'd gone through to call Kate his, this should have bothered him more than it did. "I'm going to lose her anyway," he agreed, but at least this way, he could take comfort in that fact that she was alive.

* * *

The sun had risen by the time Juliet returned from the medical station, pressing a couple of packets into his hands with a watery smile. 

Kate still hadn't left the tent; steeling himself with a deep breath, Jack ducked under the flap, his heart constricting painfully when she greeted him with a sleepy "Hey," and an enthusiastic kiss.

"Come back to bed," she teased him, tugging playfully on his arm, but he was afraid that if he didn't do it then, he'd loose his nerve, and never be able to find it again.

"I want you take this," he told her seriously, holding out his hand.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up, her brow furrowing as she picked it up to study it. "Some kind of prenatal vitamin?" She flashed him a bright smile that almost stopped him in his tracks. Everything he'd ever wanted was right there in front of him, and he was about to throw it all away because he couldn't take that leap of faith and believe that it would all be okay.

"It's for the baby," he agreed, but when he couldn't bring himself to look at her, she seemed to realise that there was something wrong; something that he wasn't telling her.

"What's it going to do?" she asked, looking wary as she set it down again. "Jack?"

"You just have to trust me, okay?" he told her, swallowing against the lump in his throat as he tried to think of a way to explain. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you."

He was trying to reassure her, but this only seemed to frighten her more. "What's it going to do to it, Jack?" she insisted, a shrill note creeping into her tone.

She took one look at his tortured expression, and hers crumpled. "Oh, God… You can't be serious," she whispered, shaking her head, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, recoiling when he reached out for her. "You said you'd never let anything to me or our baby and now you want me to help you kill it?"

"That's not what this is, Kate," he insisted, struggling not to break down before he finished making his point. "I'm trying to save your life. I know this isn't what you want – it isn't what I want either – but I need you to do this." He uncurled his hand, begging her to take it this time and put him out of his misery. "Please, Kate. For me."

She watched him through her tears, nodding slowly, as if in a trance, lifting it out of his palm. "So I just take it, and that's it?" she asked, her voice shaky and dull as she tried not to cry.

"The whole process takes a couple of days from start to finish," he agreed, shutting out the subtext and forcing himself to focus on the facts. "I'll give you another pill in about forty-eight hours to make the… final stage… easier for you."

He was trying to make it easier for both of them; less emotional; but he only succeeded in upsetting her. "You can say it, Jack – the miscarriage," she retorted waving the pill at him, the word making him cringe. "That's what this is for, right?"

"Kate…" he said, searching for the right words to comfort her, to justify it in a way that would make sense to both of them, but she cut him off before he could figure out what they were.

"Let's just get it over with, okay?"

He turned away as she popped it into her mouth, counting to three to give her time to swallow before he uncapped his water bottle and handed it to her. She took a measured sip, barely enough to wash it down, pressing it back into his hands, and for a brief moment, he wondered if it had all been too easy.

"You okay?" he asked her when she settled back against the pillows, rolling onto her side to face the wall of the tent.

"What do you think?"

It hurt to hear the accusation in her tone, and know that he deserved it, but it wasn't like he hadn't prepared himself for it. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, Kate, but it'll get better," he told her, tentatively stroking her hair. "It happened for you once – it'll happen again, one day when the timing isn't so lousy." But he didn't dare suggest that it would be with him.

"Don't," she murmured, stiffening under his touch. "I'm not a child, Jack – I don't need to be lied to."

"You're right, we don't have to talk," he agreed, withdrawing his hand as he settled himself more comfortably at her bedside, "We can just sit here," his heart breaking a little more when she insisted, "Actually, I think I'd rather be alone right now."

"If that's what you really want," he told her, deciding that the worst thing he could do for their relationship at that moment was try to force her to be okay with it – and him – before she was ready. "You just try to get some rest, and let me know if you need anything," he added as he moved to leave the tent, disappointed when she wouldn't even acknowledge him. "I'll send Juliet to check on you in a little while."

* * *

The next chapter (if you want it) will be from Kate's perspective as she asks Juliet to do her another favour...;) 


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews. :) I'm so glad you're all enjoying the new direction so much! Before anyone starts speculating, there is no chance that Sawyer is/was the father of Kate's baby -- as mentioned last chapter, SassyLostie is helping me brainstorm, and she asked me to write him... ;)

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Chapter 3.

Kate waited until Jack closed the flap of the tent to sit up, counting to ten to make sure he wasn't coming back before spitting the pill out into her palm. She hated lying to him when things were finally going so well, but she couldn't do what he was asking her to do.

She didn't want him to find it either, and realise that she'd only pretended to go along with his plan, so she dug a deep hole in the sand under the mattress and threw it inside, relieved when she didn't have to look at it anymore. While she knew that Jack was only trying to protect her; keeping her safe the best way he knew how; she couldn't help feeling betrayed. He hadn't even given her a chance to be happy; one minute she was having his baby, the next, he was telling her that she had to let that dream go because of what might happen.

She rinsed her mouth out thoroughly to make sure that she hadn't swallowed any of it and risked harming the baby, wondering how she was going to convince him that she'd actually lost it when days, even weeks, passed without any physical sign of a miscarriage. He'd want to know about everything that happened to her, down to the last gruesome detail; if she could learn what the symptoms were, she could fake some of them, but she wouldn't be able to let him get close enough to find out the truth.

What she needed, she realised, was another doctor, one he trusted enough to take over her care; it didn't take her long to figure out who that doctor was, as hard as it was to envision her siding with her against him. If she told her what she wanted, there was a chance that she would go to Jack, and they'd stage some kind of intervention, but as much as it pained her to admit it, if they stayed on the island, there was no way she'd make it through the next seven or eight months without her.

Jack was gone when she poked her head out of the tent. Breathing a sigh of relief, she crawled out the rest of the way, scanning the beach for Juliet, who was nowhere in sight. Why was it that she was always around when Kate didn't want her to be; when all she wanted was to be alone with Jack; but when she actually needed her…?

"You look like you lost somethin' there, Freckles," Sawyer drawled when she failed to notice him coming towards her before she walked into him, her path blocked by his broad chest. He smirked, flashing his dimples at her. "Maybe I can help you find it."

"Not now, Sawyer," she snapped, pushing past him, stiffening when he caught her arm.

"Everything okay?" he asked in a softer tone, using it to turn her around to face him, his light eyes boring into hers.

"Everything's fine," she told him, yanking herself free and storming off before he could say anything else. She needed to be back inside the tent before Jack realised that she was missing, or he'd start suspecting that there was something else going on.

Juliet wasn't in her own tent, or in the kitchen with the other survivors; after searching every place she could think of, she found her further along the beach, rinsing her clothes and draping them over a makeshift clothesline.

Her blue eyes widened when she looked up from wringing out a shirt to see her striding purposefully towards her. "Kate," she said, forcing a smile. "What are you doing here? Didn't Jack tell you to lie down?" Her tone was polite, friendly, laced with mild concern, like that of a doctor to a patient, but the implied criticism wasn't lost on her.

In the end, Kate decided to ignore it. "So you know then?" she asked her, folding her arms when she stopped in front of her. "He told you?"

"He asked me for my advice, and I gave it to him," Juliet agreed, adjusting her sleeves as she reached back into the tub, choosing not to specify what this advice was.

It could have been her imagination, but Kate thought she sounded almost smug; she wondered if she was the one to suggest drugging her in a last ditched attempt to win Jack back. She wouldn't put it past her, especially after she'd seemed almost resentful of her when confirming her pregnancy the day before, like she'd done it on purpose, just to spite her.

"Did you give him the pill too?" she demanded, feeling sick to her stomach when Juliet agreed.

"He wanted to know what I thought the safest method was, and when I told him, he asked if I could get it for him. I was just doing my job," she assured her without any outward sign of guilt, hanging the last of her clothes out before wiping her hands on her jeans and turning back to Kate.

"I was going to come see how you were doing, but since you're here, we might as well do this now. You're obviously feeling okay if you're moving around – are you experiencing any cramping? Bleeding?"

It was a standard inquiry, one Kate could imagine Jack making, but Juliet's casual attitude towards something that was still so sensitive for her made her angry: did she want this to happen?

"No," she told her, shaking her head for emphasis, pleased when Juliet looked confused.

"Well that's good news, Kate," she agreed, recovering her composure when she seemed to decide that as unexpected as this was, it was nothing to worry about. "We want this to be as smooth and painless as possible."

"I'm not experiencing either of those things because I didn't take it," Kate told her, watching her press her lips into a thin, colourless line.

"I'm assuming you know Jack is under the impression that you did," she said once she'd had time to process this new information. "In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that that's what you want him to believe."

"If you assumed that, then you'd be right," Kate agreed, keeping her voice cool as she dared her to challenge this decision. She'd already made it clear what she thought of her dismissing Jack's well-intentioned suggestions.

"You know the risks, Kate," Juliet pointed out with a sigh, doing her best to sound patient when it was clear that she didn't approve. "You know what could happen to you if you don't, so I guess my next question is – why?"

"I don't know, I just… can't," Kate confessed, staring down at the sand, unsure how to explain it to her when she wasn't even sure that she understood it herself. It was careless and stupid, like so many of the things she'd done in her life, but that didn't make her any less determined. "I know Jack thinks he's doing the right thing by not taking a chance on this, but I don't wanna regret it. I wanna at least know I tried."

"And you need my help," Juliet finished for her, raising a thin eyebrow, the corners of her lips quirking into what almost passed for an ironic smile. It wasn't a question, but an acknowledgement of something that they both knew to be true: whether they wanted to or not, they each had something that the other was lacking, something that the other needed in order to do what they thought they needed to do.

"I want you to give me those injections, like you gave Claire," Kate explained, forcing herself to look at her now that they'd arrived at the real reason for their conversation, to show her how serious she was. "But first, I need you to help me convince Jack that I lost the baby like I was supposed to."

Juliet shook her head at these words, something akin to fear passing through her eyes. "Kate, you saw what happened to her," she argued, and Kate thought she even looked a little ashamed.

"I also saw how you saved her," she reminded her, unwilling to give up on the idea until she was sure that they were out of options. She needed to do this: they both did. "But maybe if you started earlier, or changed the formula…"

"What about Jack?" Juliet pressed. "You're just not going to tell him? Don't you think he deserves to know?"

"He does," Kate agreed, a stab of guilt piercing her heart, but she shoved it aside. She was doing this for him; for both of them. She didn't want him to regret it either. "But he doesn't need to – not yet."

"Please, Juliet," she added when she sensed how torn the other woman was. It was her job to create life and nurture it, not destroy it. "You're my doctor, not his – doesn't that mean you have to respect my wishes?"

"Well this is what I want," Kate finished when she nodded slowly.

Juliet sighed, and realising what this meant, Kate wanted to hug her. She was going to help her. She was going to get to keep her baby. "Then I hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

Next chapter(again, if you want it): Juliet's P.O.V. as she helps Kate keep her secret... ;) 


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews. I've resigned myself to the fact that this chapter isn't going to go down too well with some of you, but I was due for an update and this is the way I planned it. That said, I've watched THE SCENE a couple of times and I'm not bothered by it -- while I have always been and will always be a Jater, I actually thought it was sweet. It was nice to see Jack getting the love he deserves. But for those of you who disagree, all I can say is remember, we now know that two years from now, Jack will STILL be in love with Kate... ;)

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Chapter 4. 

_What did I just do_? Juliet thought as she watched Kate retreat along the beach, hurrying back to Jack's tent before he had time to realise that she'd left it.

What she was asking was impossible – that's what she should have told her, but instead, she'd agreed.

_You're only doing what she wants_, she reminded herself, _What she begged you to do_, and for a while, it helped, until she noticed them sitting in tense silence at dinner, Jack's expression more strained that she could remember seeing it.

She could still picture his grin when she told them that Kate was pregnant, before reality caught up with him and he realised what that meant. He was a good man: gentle, kind, loving – one of the sweetest Juliet had ever met – and yet he was torturing himself because of those qualities, because he'd acted out of love in giving Kate the advice that she was determined not to take, even for him.

And for better or worse, he loved her, even if she didn't always deserve it – could Juliet really live with Kate's death on her conscience if she failed and lost her, and their unborn child too, knowing how it would destroy him? He would never forgive himself for putting her at risk, and he would never forgive them for shutting him out either, and if he did, he still wouldn't be the same man.

There were too many ifs, too variables, too many ways for her to add to the pain he was already nursing, when if she left it alone, it would heal. She couldn't do it; she couldn't be responsible for hurting him like that.

It should have been easy for a seasoned liar like her, but the night before she was supposed to convince him that she'd given Kate the follow up drug, she found that she couldn't sleep, shifting uncomfortably as she tried to figure out a way out of it.

Once she did that, she was committed; the two lives that mattered more to him than his own were in her hands. It was enough to make her want to run back to the Others' camp, where she could at least kid herself into believing that she could maintain a professional distance.

When she gave up on trying to sleep and left her tent, she was surprised to find Kate out of hers, sitting alone on the beach. Watching her slip her hand beneath her shirt, touching her lower belly so tentatively that she barely seemed to make contact, Juliet wondered if she was having second thoughts too. It would make it easier for her to get out what she needed to say.

"Does Jack know you're out here?" she asked her and Kate started, jerking it away, the spell broken.

"Juliet. You scared me," she said, shooting her an accusing look as she shifted, drawing her knees up to her chest. "And no, he doesn't," she confessed after a beat, her voice softening when Juliet joined her. "I told him I wanted to sleep in my own tent tonight."

Seeing how sad she looked as she turned to stare out to sea, Juliet almost felt sorry for her. The choice she was facing must be worse than the one she was struggling with. "He didn't try to stop you?" she asked, her heart aching for him when Kate shook her head. It wasn't like him to admit defeat.

"Maybe you should tell him," she suggested gently when an uncomfortable silence fell over them, taken aback when Kate cried, "No", loud enough to wake the nearest tents.

"No," she repeated at a more reasonable volume, her eyes hard as they shone in the darkness. "I'm not telling him anything until I know it's gonna work, and you can't either. I'm counting on you."

That was exactly what Juliet was afraid of. "That's just it, Kate," she told her with a sigh, realising that she was never going to get another chance as good as this one. "I don't think it is going to work. I've tried everything and the women still die. You might not care about that, but I know for a fact that Jack will."

Even though all Juliet had done was be honest, Kate recoiled from her words as if she'd been slapped. "So you're just gonna give up? You don't wanna piss him off, so I should just take the pill and forget it ever happened?" she retorted, tears springing to her eyes as she scrambled to her feet.

Juliet tried to think of something she could say to convince her; something that would make her understand that had nothing to do with Jack choosing her, or the tension that had always existed between them, but Kate was still too emotional, too defensive to hear her out.

"You know, I thought you were on _my_ side," she spat, swiping at her eyes angrily as she turned to go back to her tent. "I actually thought we were in this together."

* * *

Juliet continued to sit there long after Kate had gone to bed, thinking about what she'd said. As infuriating as it was, nothing she or Jack did could make her see reason, enough to admit that the baby she was carrying wasn't meant to be, at least not on this island. 

If she were someone else – anyone else – Juliet would have let her learn this the hard way when she gave her life for a child she had no hope of meeting, but no matter how she tried to justify it, she couldn't deny the fact that Kate was right about one thing:

They were in it together.

Kate's mind was made up: she was going to have her baby or die trying; the only difference was that with treatment, they might actually stand a chance of surviving.

Juliet was still sitting there the next morning when Jack came to collect the second pill: the one he thought would facilitate the miscarriage. One look at the deep lines etched into his forehead told her that he hadn't slept either.

"Why don't you let me give it to her?" she suggested, reaching out to place a hand gently on his arm, hating the fact that she was being forced to manipulate him again, even though there was a chance that he would thank her for it later: both of them.

"This isn't your problem, Juliet," he argued, stiffening almost imperceptibly under her touch, but while his tone remained firm, determined, his eyes told a different story. He didn't want to do this. He wanted someone to take the choice out of his hands.

"Let me, Jack," she insisted, "Please," some of the pressure on her chest releasing when he nodded, giving her the permission she needed to help him, even if it wasn't in the way he thought she was offering.

Kate was perched on the bench in the kitchen, cradling a bowl in her lap as she pushed its contents around with a spoon; she looked apprehensive when she saw Juliet approaching, setting it down and folding her arms instead.

"If you came to try again, you can forget it," she told her, licking her bottom lip as she cast a guilty glance at Jack, who was watching them from across the beach. "I told you – I can't."

"Then you better listen to me," Juliet agreed, lowering her voice, and Kate's eyes widened. "Right now, Jack thinks I came over here to examine you, to make sure you're ready for the next step, so I need you to come with me to your tent."

"You've changed your mind? You're gonna help me?" Kate repeated as she slid dutifully to her feet, a hint of incredulity creeping into her tone. "Why?"

_She doesn't trust me_, Juliet thought, forcing herself to remember why she'd decided to go along with something that was likely to blow up in her face. _She thinks I'm going to let them die._

"Make no mistake, Kate," she told her, meeting her gaze. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for _him_."

* * *

Next chapter: Jack tries to deal with what's happening... ;) 


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews. Some of you are gonna hate me for this chapter and think I've gone over to the dark side because it's a little Jacket-heavy (which is why I was afraid to post it!), but I think it's clear where Jack's heart lies... ;)

* * *

Chapter 5.

More than half an hour had passed since Kate went with Juliet to her tent and Juliet still hadn't emerged. Even with the examination beforehand, Jack wasn't sure that it should be taking her this long just to give her a pill; remembering the look on Kate's face when he asked her to do this for him, he found himself growing more apprehensive with each moment that he was left imagining.

She hadn't cried or argued this time, but he knew better than anyone that she was capable of putting up a good fight once her mind was made up; that was what scared him about this whole situation: she was being compliant, and that wasn't the Kate that he knew. Or loved.

In fact, in the two days since they'd started the process together, she'd come to feel like a stranger to him.

"What happened?" he asked, intercepting Juliet as she stepped back out onto the beach, heading straight for her own tent.

She stopped, her ice blue eyes boring into his, and he couldn't tell what she was thinking until she said in a tone that suggested he should have figured this out, "She was very upset, Jack. She didn't want to do it, but I told her how the other woman died—"

"And she took it?" he pressed, cutting her off, more determined than ever to keep her from meeting the same fate. It was bad enough that he was going to lose their baby; he couldn't lose her too, not when it had taken him so long to find her.

She hesitated again, and he was afraid that she was trying to figure out how to break the news that Kate had backed out in spite of the additional risks, but then she agreed. "Yes."

That one word filled him with a strange combination of hope and relief, sadness and regret. If he could get Kate through the next twenty-four hours without complications, she would live, and life on the island would continue as it was before. He just wasn't sure _how much_ before. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait," Juliet told him, seeming to relax as she switched over into doctor mode. Jack couldn't say that he blamed her: this wasn't supposed to be part of her job. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be, but his world was far from perfect. "The cramps started a few minutes ago, and there's some light spotting, which is a good sign – it means the medication is doing its job. I gave her something for the pain and told her to rest. If everything goes well her body should expel the foetus in a couple of hours."

He tried to acknowledge her effort to keep it impersonal by listening with the same clinical detachment, but he couldn't stop his heart from constricting, or the bile from rising in his throat at this description. It wasn't just a cluster of cells, like a cancer: it was a child, _his_ child; the one that he'd made with the woman he loved.

"I should go see how she's doing," he told Juliet, desperate to set things right between them, even if it was just by showing her that this was hurting him too, but before he could reach her tent, he felt Juliet's fingers dig into his bicep, slowing him down.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jack," she argued, scurrying alongside him, and he thought he detected a hint of panic in her tone.

"Why not?" he demanded, rounding on her when she refused to let him go.

"Because she doesn't want you there," she insisted, and he stopped, all of the air rushing out of his lungs as though she'd sucker punched him.

"She told you that?" he asked, fumbling for any excuse he could find not to believe her. He knew that she still had feelings for him: was it possible that she was lying? That she was counting on the disintegration of his relationship with Kate?

"Yes," she agreed, her piercing blue gaze locking on his, and he felt his resolve to reject what she was saying outright slipping away along with his hope for any kind of future for him and Kate. If she couldn't find it in her heart to forgive him… "She specifically asked that you stay away, and the last thing she needs right now is for you to upset her anymore than she already is."

"So that's it?" he repeated, shaking her off in his frustration. "I'm just supposed to let her go through this alone?"

He wanted to hit something, to feel the pain and the satisfaction of seeing the destruction he'd caused, but the other survivors were already shooting them curious glances. He was supposed to be their leader; he couldn't make more of a scene than he already had.

"She won't be alone, Jack," Juliet corrected him, softening, her voice low and gentle, and he thought she looked a little hurt. "She has me."

While he trusted her to do her job, knowing that she would be there in his place wasn't enough to satisfy him. He wanted to be the one to take care of Kate, to console her and share her grief, but he knew how crucial the next few hours could be this far from a hospital, so throwing his hands up in defeat, he stormed past her tent, into the jungle where he could be alone to process.

Whatever she was thinking; whatever she was feeling, it was clear that she still saw it as his fault. Maybe even hated him a little. He couldn't see how they could ever come back from that.

And maybe it was, because he'd given in to his desire for her in the first place. He knew how dangerous it was, and he'd allowed himself to forget, long enough to destroy the trust that they'd worked so hard to build.

He was so caught up in this loop of self-pity and guilt that he didn't notice when it began to get dark; he was still sitting there what must have been hours later when his eyes fell on a light moving through the trees, and Juliet appeared, her tense expression relaxing when she saw him.

"You shouldn't be out here, Jack – it's not safe," she told him, digging the end of her torch into the earth, and perching on the log beside him.

She seemed to expect a response, but his throat ached, and he didn't trust his voice, so they sat in silence instead, until she confessed, "It's over."

She didn't have to explain what these words meant, because he knew. It was gone. All of it. The baby. Kate. Everything. 

"Is she okay?" he managed, even though he knew that she couldn't be, not when he'd broken the most important promise that he'd ever made her.

"Physically, she's fine," Juliet agreed, staring out into the darkness, and he was grateful for that much, "but she's hurting, Jack. She just needs you to give her some time."

He tried to nod, to show her that he understood, but all he could think about was how much he needed _her_, and as he did, he felt the first tear slide down his nose, to his cheek, coating his tongue with the bitter taste of salt.

He scrubbed at his face with his palm, swallowing the sob that followed, but he felt like his lungs were being squeezed in a vice, and as he struggled to fill them with enough air to keep breathing, he couldn't stop his shoulders from shaking, or the anguished sound that escaped from somewhere deep within him.

He didn't realise that he was crying until he felt Juliet's arms around him, larger than Kate's, and yet somehow more delicate, lacking her fierce strength; the strength that he needed now. She wasn't what he wanted, but just for that moment, he let her comfort him, burying his face in her shoulder as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so, so sorry." 

* * *

Next chapter: Back to Kate as Juliet takes her to the medical station to begin her treatment, and some Jate! ;) 


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews. ;)

* * *

Chapter 6.

The hours spent alone in her tent gave Kate too much time to think.

She thought about Sun and everyone else that they'd laid to rest on the island, and how terrified she was that in less than two months it would be her funeral that they gathered for. She thought about Juliet and how she still wasn't sure that she could trust her to save them. But most of all, she thought about Jack, and how much she wished that she could tell him the truth.

She wanted to believe that when he realised how much it meant to her, he would support her decision to see the pregnancy through, but he was scared, and it was making him selfish. He couldn't see beyond his own fear of losing her. She just hoped that if – and it was a big if – by some miracle the treatment worked, and she made it to the birth, he would understand the lengths she was willing to go to protect her child. _Their_ child.

The one thing she couldn't allow herself to think about was what would happen if it didn't.

She was lying with her back to the entrance, but she froze at the rustle of the flap, letting out the breath she was holding when a hushed voice whispered, "Kate?"

"I'm awake," she agreed, rolling onto her other side to see Juliet crouched at the foot of her bed. "You scared me – I thought you were Jack when you came in."

If she were anyone else, she would have apologised, but as Kate had come to expect, Juliet wasn't there to make friends. "Well, considering you told me to tell him that you didn't want him here, I don't think you have to worry about that," she assured her, peeking back out at the still beach.

As far as Kate could tell, all of the campfires had been extinguished, which meant that everyone else had turned in for the night. She wondered if Jack was among them, and if he was asleep. She'd gotten so used to his presence that she hated sleeping without him; she wanted to crawl into his tent, under his blanket, and let him hold her, but she knew that it would only confuse him. 

She was supposed to be avoiding him; not to mention the fact that he thought she was resting, recovering from a miscarriage.

"What about you? Why are you here?" she asked Juliet, pushing herself into a sitting position so that she could read her expression. She couldn't be there to check on her because there was nothing to check.

"I'm here because you asked me to treat you," Juliet reminded her, "and the only way I can do that is if we keep it a secret."

"You didn't bring anything with you," Kate pointed out when it occurred to her that Juliet's hands were empty, and she didn't have her backpack with her. "Don't you need more pills or something?"

"It's all at the medical station," Juliet agreed, "which is why you and I are going for a walk."

* * *

The medical hatch looked different at night, more ominous with its blinking fluorescent lights, Kate thought as she and Juliet made their way back to the examination room.

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to start with some tests to see how your results compare to the other women's," Juliet told her, arranging the equipment on the bench while Kate perched on the edge of the bed.

"Whatever you think you need to do," she agreed, holding still while Juliet checked each of her vitals and recorded them on the chart she'd begun for her.

"You're not going to leave any of this here are you?" she asked, trying not to look as Juliet drew enough blood to fill a second vial. As if she didn't have enough to panic about: the last thing she needed was to know that Ben knew.

"No, I'm going to bring it back to camp with us and keep it my tent," Juliet assured her, and some of the pressure in her chest released. So long as Jack continued to respect Juliet's privacy, no one had to know what they were doing at night after he and everyone else was asleep.

By the time Juliet wheeled the monitor over, Kate was almost relaxed; it was easy to imagine that she was in a regular doctor's office back in the real world, and that this was all standard.

"Lift up your shirt," Juliet instructed her, squeezing the gel onto her skin and picking up the wand, and a moment later, the screen lit up with the same was grainy image that Kate had watched with Jack days before.

It felt like an eternity had passed since then; it made her sad to think that he wouldn't be there to watch it change and grow – not until it was too big to hide – but seeing it again strengthened her resolve not to let it go without a fight, reminding her of why she'd decided to do this in the first place. 

"That's so amazing," she told Juliet, a dazed grin creeping over her face at the thought that that was a baby: _her_ baby; that she was a mother or would be if everything went according to plan.

"It really is," Juliet agreed to her surprise, returning her smile as she shifted the wand to get a better look. "Everything looks healthy."

Even though Juliet had told her as much when she confirmed that she was pregnant, Kate couldn't help feeling relieved at these words. So far, so good. "Can you tell what it is yet?" she asked, her excitement mounting despite the promise she'd made to herself to wait until they were both out of danger. 

"Judging by the size of the foetus, you're about eight weeks along, so no, not for at least another two months," Juliet confessed, her smile fading, and instead of the obvious disappointment, a new feeling washed over Kate: 

Dread.

"And I'll be dead by then," she finished for her, the mood in the examination room darkening now that one of them had said it aloud.

"It's not too late to change your mind, Kate," Juliet insisted, switching the machine off and turning to face her, and Kate felt sick to her stomach at the realisation that she wasn't going to try to deny it. Either she didn't have much faith in her own abilities, or she knew how impossible it all was. "I can give you the first pill now, the second one in a couple of days. I'll tell Jack we didn't get it all the first time – he never has to know that you lied."

_Everything looks healthy, _she heard Juliet say again, the words sparking something fierce and primal inside of her. How could she tell her that her baby was perfect with one breath, and then try to talk her out of having it with the next? 

"You mean he never has to know _you_ lied. That's what you're worried about, right?" she retorted, sitting up, even though somewhere deep down inside she knew that Juliet was only trying to help. "That he'll blame you when he finds out, because you're the one he trusted – you're the one who was supposed to be on his side."

She expected Juliet to give her the fight she needed to get her anger out, confused when she walked back over to the bench. "He cried, you know – when I told him," she said, opening a drawer, and for a moment, Kate wasn't sure what to make of this, until she added, "He thinks you hate him now – that you feel betrayed by him."

She was talking about Jack: about his reaction to the lies that she'd asked her to feed him. Kate tried not to let her see how deeply the knowledge that Jack had broken down like that affected her, but she couldn't stop her voice quivering as she asked, "What's that?" nodding at the little bottle in front of her.

"It's what I gave Claire and the other women," Juliet explained in the same casual tone, but as grateful as Kate was that she wasn't going to push the point any further, she couldn't help feeling apprehensive.

"I saw what happened to her, even after she had the baby," she reminded her, shuddering at the memory. Of all the things they'd witnessed on the island, that had to have been one of the most harrowing.

"No, you didn't," Juliet confessed, preparing the syringe as if she hadn't voiced her protest. "You saw exactly what Ben wanted you to see."

"What does Ben have to do with any of this?" Kate insisted, fear gripping her insides when Juliet turned to meet her eyes and she saw the shame there.

"He told me to put an implant in her, to make her sick."

Kate had always thought that her part in keeping them captive at the Hydra was reason enough to dislike her, but what she'd just owned to was so much worse. She wondered if Jack even knew. Surely he wouldn't have invited her to come live with them if he did. "_Why_? What did she ever do to you?"

"He asked me to do it so that I could save her, and you would let me stay," Juliet explained, defensiveness creeping into her tone, but as she approached the bed, Kate scrambled off it, backing towards the door. 

She wanted to run, to get as far from her as she could, but something was holding her there, as though by an invisible thread. "You tell me you almost killed Claire and I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"Yes, you are, Kate, or else you and your baby will die," Juliet agreed, and Kate's heart sank. As much as the idea of being dependant on her after everything she'd just admitted terrified her, she was trapped. "Now I need you to lie back down and let me do my job."

"Is it going to hurt it?" she asked, pushing up her shirt, watching Juliet wipe the gel off and rub alcohol onto the spot where she was going to give her the injection. She wasn't sure that she could trust her to tell her the truth, but something about Juliet's professional manner convinced her to relax. 

"See that line? That's the needle," she explained, tracing its path on the monitor with her free hand as it pierced Kate's skin, "and that's your baby there. It won't feel anything – I promise."

She smiled to show how earnest was, and gritting her teeth, Kate forced herself to nod. It was far from perfect, but for the time being, she had no choice but to put her faith in Juliet. She wasn't working for Ben anymore: now that she'd moved over to their side, she had nothing to gain from harming either of them. At least that was what she kept reminding herself.

* * *

"So what now?" Kate asked when Juliet dropped her off outside her tent later that night.

"Well, I'm going to keep an eye on your white blood cell count, and that will tell us whether or not the injections are working," she explained, doing her best to reassure her as she added, "Then, if we have to, we'll try something else."

As she started towards her own shelter, Kate wanted to ask her if she thought the chances of that being successful were any better, but she didn't think she could handle any more bad news. What she needed more than anything was to be with someone that she knew she could trust: someone who would make her feel safe, even if it was an illusion.

"Juliet?" she called after her before she could think about it too much, continuing when she stopped, "Can you get Jack? Please?"

Juliet arched an eyebrow at her, her blue eyes wide with surprise, but to her credit, she didn't press her about telling him the truth. "Sure," she agreed, forcing a tight smile as she turned and disappeared into the darkness.

When she was gone, Kate crawled back into bed, staring up at the tarp as she waited to see whether or not he would accept the olive branch she was offering. She couldn't blame him if he was hesitant after everything she'd put him through, but that didn't make her any less relieved when the flap lifted, and she glanced over in time to see him slip into her tent.

"Hey," he murmured in that concerned tone that always melted her heart, but his smile was tense as he hovered inside the entrance, and she knew that he hadn't been asleep. He was too awake; too alert. He was probably lying there replaying the last few days in his mind just as she had been before he came in.

"How are you…?" He swallowed, and she could see that he was trying not to think about what she'd just been through what he _thought_ she'd been through. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she confessed, wincing and pressing a hand to stomach when she tried to sit up and discovered how tender it still was.

It wasn't a lie, but she couldn't help feeling ashamed when Jack moved over to her side, taking hold of her shoulders to ease her back down. "Hey, it's okay, you don't have to get up," he told her, brushing a wayward curl from her cheek in an impulsive gesture that made her smile.

And realise how much she missed him.

The look in his eyes as they locked on hers told her that he'd missed her too.

"Do you need anything?" he asked to break the silence that followed, clearing his throat when his voice came out strained and hoarse. "Food? Water? An extra blanket?" He flashed her what should have been an impish grin, but it fell flat in his despair. "I'm sure I could get one from Sawyer."

"No, I'm okay," she assured him with a polite smile, and he looked disappointed, convinced that she was shutting him out, until she decided to extend the olive branch a little further. "But… Will you sleep in here with me tonight? I don't wanna be alone."

He drew in a sharp breath, and some of the light returned to his eyes as he nodded, too overcome to speak.

She shifted onto her side, and he settled behind her with his arms circling her waist, though she noticed that he was careful not to let his hands make contact, as if afraid of the emptiness he would find there. She hated watching him grieve for something that he'd never lost, but she couldn't tell him how much he still had to lose, so she moulded herself against him, covering his hands with her own, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, slicking her skin with his tears.

* * *

I'm not sure if anyone cares, but for anyone who thinks Jack is being too emotional, when he cried last chapter, with Juliet,it was because he thoughtwas losing Kate and he didn't know what to do. This time it's all about the baby and his guilt.

Given that interest in this fic keeps dropping (despite the fact that I was up until 3am finishing this chapter, which if anyone is wondering is more than 2,500 words long) this will probably be the last update for a while. I'm sorry that so many of you hate Juliet, and that there's too much angst, but those are both key elements that I can't take out.

In the next chapter I was going to have Juliet start an experimental and potentially lethal new treatment that will lead to Jack finding out (and find out he will, in the most dramatic way possible), but that's only if people want to see it. Otherwise I'll just focus on my new fic. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the reviews. Yes, an experimental new treatment means more drama! ;)

* * *

Chapter 7.

In the two weeks that she'd been injecting Kate with the serum, Juliet hadn't seen any improvement. This on its own would have been cause enough for concern, but the most recent samples she'd taken showed the same decline in Kate's white blood cell count that she'd observed in the other women in the lead up to their deaths.

So far she was healthy, but her morning sickness was so severe that Juliet had noticed her slipping out of Jack's tent before it was even light, staying out in the jungle for hours pretending to pick fruit so that he wouldn't question her about what she was doing there. She could tell that he was worried about her, but Kate was so distant and secretive on the whole that he didn't seem any more suspicious of these disappearances than of her mood swings, or the looser clothes she'd adopted to hide the changes visible to anyone who knew what to look for.

"I think we need to tell him," she insisted when she noticed how laboured Kate's breathing had become as she climbed up onto the bed in the examination room. The walk from the beach wasn't long, and she'd never had any trouble with it before; it might just be the few extra pounds was carrying, or the fact that she wasn't as active these days, but that didn't stop the panic that was beginning to claw at Juliet's heart.

Now that Kate was less than ten days from the beginning of her second trimester, she guessed that she had about a week to come up with a new approach to her treatment before the real symptoms started; three before the damage became irreversible, and she lost her and her baby too. It wasn't much time; after three years of searching for a solution that wouldn't put the mother further at risk, she was running out of viable ideas.

"No, Juliet," Kate argued, shooting her a warning look, and Juliet was amazed at how composed she managed to sound. If she didn't do something soon, then both Kate and her baby would be dead before the month was out, and yet she held strong, immovable on this point. Nothing she said seemed to leave much of an impression; she was either really brave, or really stupid. "We've been through this – not until you can _promise me_ that I'm not gonna die."

"I just think that if we tell him…" Juliet began, trying to explain her hope that Jack might be able to offer her a fresh angle, one that could save their lives, but Kate cut her off before she could finish.

"He'll know what to do?" she supplied, and Juliet could hear the contempt in her tone, making it clear that she disagreed. "What makes you think he'll handle it any better than he did last time? That he won't just freak out?"

The truth was that Juliet didn't. In fact, the more she thought about it…

"You know I'm right," Kate told her, her voice softening when she seemed to pick up on the difficulty Juliet was having admitting that there wasn't anything anyone else could do.

That it was up to her.

"If it helps, at least we won't have to lie to him for much longer," Kate quipped with a watery smile, but her joke fell flat when her voice quivered and she bit her lip, looking as if she might burst into tears.

Seeing how frightened she was underneath her bravado, Juliet felt her heart go out to the younger woman. It was easy for her to think that she understood what she was going through, but she wasn't the one who'd been handed a death sentence.

"You're not going to die, Kate," she assured her, dragging her stool over to the side of the bed, but it wasn't the concrete promise that she knew she was hoping for, and she could tell that Kate didn't believe her.

"Sun did," she whispered, her green eyes wide and glistening when she looked up at her, and Juliet wasn't sure what to say to this.

"I know," she agreed after a long moment, swallowing against the lump that formed in her throat whenever she was forced to think about her past failures. For some reason, the Korean woman stuck out in her mind: perhaps because she'd come so close to getting her off the island. "But she was a different case."

She tried to infuse them with as much meaning as she could, but they were just words and they both knew it.

"Isn't there something else you can try?" Kate pressed when the silence became so unbearable that Juliet turned away to arrange the instruments for her exam. "Something you didn't do with the other women?"

"Nothing that I've been able to test," she confessed, trying to deter her, but as she'd come to expect, she seized on this small measure of hope.

"So test it now. On me," she insisted, sitting up straighter on the bed, her resolve to fight what was happening to her returning now that she knew that she had a chance.

Juliet wanted to help her, to give her the assurance that her eyes pleaded for, but she wasn't sure that she could do what she was asking. It was hard enough when the treatment failed and the women died: how could she live with herself knowing that she'd played an active part in Kate's death?

"You don't understand, Kate – if I'm wrong, I could kill you. You and your baby could both die," she insisted, but Kate was past the point of letting something like this stop her.

"So I die some other way," she agreed. "Does it matter? This thing you're suggesting, it gives me a fifty-fifty shot, right? That's more than I have now."

"I know you're scared, Kate," Juliet tried again, hoping to keep her from acting on impulse, talking her into doing something that they would both regret, "but maybe we should think about this…"

"We don't have time to think about it," Kate insisted, her expression fierce as she stared her down. "I want you to do it."

"You don't even know what it is yet," Juliet reminded her, but she could see that it didn't matter. She was desperate. She had nothing left to lose.

"So tell me, if that's what you need to do, but my mind is made up," Kate told her, crossing her arms when she swung her legs around to perch on the edge of the bed. "I want to do this, Juliet. I _have_ to."

"During the first three months of pregnancy, the uterus releases proteins designed to suppress the uterine immune response – to keep the mother's body from rejecting the foetus," Juliet began with a sigh, waiting until Kate nodded to continue.

"Around the beginning of the second trimester, we would normally see a reduction of these proteins, to keep them from leaking into the circulatory system and causing a complete suppression of the maternal immune response – one that would compromise the mother's ability to carry to term.

"For some reason, it happens differently here. About eleven weeks after conception, the mother's white blood cell count plummets and her body begins to treat the foetus as an infection. When it tries to fight back, they both die."

"Okay, so what's your idea?" Kate pressed when she stopped to let her digest this, some of the colour draining from her face at hearing her death put into such definite terms.

"I give you another injection, to try to bring the glycoproteins down to a more manageable level before they become dangerous."

"If that's what's supposed to happen…" Kate argued, no longer seeming to follow Juliet's train of thought, Juliet didn't need to hear the rest of the question to know what it was. She was looking for a way to justify it to herself; to convince herself that it wasn't as big a risk as she'd made it sound.

"I'm not an immunologist, Kate," she explained, so that she would understand why she was so reluctant to make her her guinea pig. She hadn't even had time to research it, much less perfect the dosage. "I don't know enough about how immune systems work to feel confident tampering with yours. If I make a mistake, I could be exposing you and your baby to any number of potentially lethal pathogens on this island.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" she repeated when Kate opened her mouth, she was sure, to tell her that she didn't care. "If we do this, you put yourself at risk of a contracting fatal infection, and then, Kate, you _will _die."

* * *

Next chapter: Jack confronts Kate about her behaviour... ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews. ;)

* * *

Chapter 8.

Cracking his eyes open as early morning sunlight filtered into his tent, Jack saw that Kate's side of the mattress was empty, the blanket that had covered her the night before crumpled and discarded. It wasn't the first time that he'd woken up to find her gone; in fact, it was such a common occurrence these days that he should have been used to it, but he wasn't.

Weeks of falling asleep with her in his arms only for her to leave them again and it still hurt.

While he was determined to give her the space that she needed to work through her own pain, it bothered him that he had no idea where she went, or why, except to get away from him. She was never in her own shelter, or on the beach with the rest of their friends; once or twice he walked past Sawyer's tent, just in case, but to his relief, he never heard any trace of her there.

Juliet was shaking cereal into a bowl when he passed the kitchen, looking for someone he might have spoken to her that morning; he stopped when a thought occurred to him, one that had been tormenting him since he first realised that it might not just be grief causing the cracks in their relationship.

"Juliet? Do you have a minute?" he said, leaning back against the counter beside her. "It's about Kate."

She set the box down, her expression guarded, neutral, as she asked, "Is she okay?"

She might just have been waiting for information before reacting, but her careful response made him wonder if she knew something, or at least was anticipating it.

"That's what I'm asking you," he told her, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat that prevented him from being more specific. "You must have seen situations like hers before…?"

"You mean pregnancy loss?" she supplied, and he nodded, frustrated that he was a doctor and he couldn't even bring himself to say it. His mouth went dry every time he tried, and his chest felt heavy, as though his heart had been replaced with concrete.

"I saw it all the time when I was working as a fertility doctor," she agreed with a tight smile, pretending not to notice this momentary lapse of his composure. "Women would spend years trying to conceive only to lose their baby in the first trimester."

She waited for him to recover before adding, "Is there something I can help you with, Jack? You said you had a question – about Kate?"

"You can tell me about the after effects," he explained, grateful that she wasn't going to try to turn the conversation around and make it about him. He didn't want to talk about how he felt: he wanted to know what he could do to fix things, before he lost her for good.

"I know that you're worried about her, Jack," she said gently, "but it's been more than a month since she took that pill – she should be fully recovered by now."

"I'm talking about the psychological effects," he corrected her, and her expression changed, shifting into a frown. These weren't something he was accustomed to dealing with, and he wondered if she was the same. "She's been… different… since it happened. More withdrawn, if that's even possible," he finished, forcing a laugh, but the more he tried to convince himself, the less he believed that this was just Kate being Kate.

Juliet pursed her lips, staring down at the sand, and he almost reconsidered his decision to confide in her when he knew, like everyone else on the island, she had problems of her own, but the only other person he could think to talk to about something like this was Kate.

"Everyone handles it differently," she told him with a sigh when she forced herself to meet his eyes again, "but it's not uncommon for women to feel depressed after an abortion, especially if they feel that they weren't given a choice. It's normal behaviour—"

"Not for her," he insisted, but she shot him a hard look that said 'Do you want my help or not?'.

"What I was going to say," she continued when he fell silent again, urging her to go ahead, "is that she's probably still trying to come to terms with it. You just need to give her time."

"I've given her time and she won't talk to me, or let me touch her – the other day when I walked into her tent while she was getting dressed, she turned away, covered up, like she couldn't stand the thought of me seeing her," he confessed, wondering if he'd overstepped the bounds of their friendship by mentioning this when she let out an audible breath, reaching up to run a hand over her forehead. "It's like she's punishing me for choosing her instead of the baby."

"She's not punishing you, Jack," she assured him, clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. And why shouldn't she be? It was none of her business. "But don't you think you should be having this conversation with her?"

"You're right," he agreed, accepting the hint with a penitent smile. "I shouldn't be putting you in the middle of this. I'm sorry."

He left her there to finish her breakfast, striding up the beach until his eyes locked on Kate.

He wasn't sure how it had been since she'd returned to the campsite – or even if she'd left it at all – but at that moment she was crouching in the sand beside Claire and Aaron, chatting to the young mother while her baby amused himself grasping at her long curls.

Watching them as he approached, he felt a pang when he got hold of one and she laughed, freeing it and tucking it back behind her ear before leaning forward to whisper something to him. She looked so happy; so much livelier than the pensive woman he'd been living with all these weeks that it hurt him to think that he'd taken that from her.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked her as soon as he got close enough for her to hear him, and she looked up, alarmed.

"Sure," she agreed, her smile wary as she excused herself and followed him towards her tent, but she didn't look sure at all.

In fact, he thought she looked a little afraid of him, or at least of the confrontation that she sensed was coming.

"What's up?" she asked when they were both inside, out of view of the other survivors, wrapping her arms around herself. He expected her to be angry, defensive, but she seemed more ashamed than anything else.

It was unsettling, making him wonder why she didn't seem to think he deserved either of those things. He _wanted _a fight. Something. Anything that would give him a clue as to what she was thinking.

"I want you to tell me what's going on with you," he explained once he'd had time to adjust his approach, cupping her shoulders to get her to look at him.

"What d'you mean?" she asked, furrowing her brow, and he could tell she was only pretending to be confused by what he was asking. "I was just talking to Claire."

"What I mean," he continued, "is you act like we're okay – like you're not still mad at me – but you can't even stay the whole night in the same tent as me. What does that say about us? About where we're headed?"

He waited for her to erupt, to storm out, but to his surprise, the stony expression she'd maintained up until that point collapsed at these words. "I'm not mad at you, Jack," she insisted, her voice quivering as tears sprung to her eyes. "And I don't hate you, I just…"

She bit her lip, shaking her head as she seemed to think better of whatever she was about to tell him. "Please don't think that's what this is. It has nothing to do with you, _or _what you wanted me to do – I swear."

When she wouldn't offer him anything more, he didn't know what to say, so in the end he just nodded, pulling her close while she clung tightly to him, burying her face in his chest.

* * *

I know she didn't tell him, but don't worry, he will find out very soon, and when he does... let's just say I'm very excited! Everything (all of their lies, the treatment) is going to come to a head!

Next chapter: More Jate, and Juliet learns more than she ever wanted to know about Jack and Kate's relationship! ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for the reviews. Once again I was floored by the response -- it's been a while since I've written something people have gotten this excited about (Except "Middle Ground" which some of you will be pleased to know I'm working on a follow up to). I was going to update "Not Anymore" but I decided to keep going with this instead... ;)

* * *

Chapter 9.

It was true what they said about the second trimester: now that Kate's morning sickness had disappeared along with her usually narrow waist, she was determined to make up for not being there for Jack, if not by telling him the truth, then by trying to repair some of the damage to their relationship. She wanted him to believe that she wasn't avoiding him, at least not in the way that he thought; that she missed him as much as he missed her, maybe more.

That she still loved him, even if she wasn't sure that he would be able to forgive her.

Shifting onto her side, she traced the worry lines etched into his forehead with her thumb, startled when a set of strong hands wrapped around her, pulling her down on top of him.

"Hey," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep, and she saw that he was awake, eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and hope. "You're still here."

"I am," she agreed, tensing as she wondered whether he could feel the way her stomach jutted out into the beginnings of a baby bump, but if he noticed this unexplained weight gain, he was careful not to acknowledge it.

He reached up to brush a stray curl from her eyes, resting his palm against her forehead with a frown. "You okay? You're a little warm."

"Yeah, I'm great," she assured him, forcing a smile, even though he was right: she did feel a little feverish. Juliet said that might happen: a side effect of whatever she was injecting her with to bring her immune system to where it was supposed to be.

He studied her face for a few seconds longer before dropping his hand to her back. "I've missed this," he told her, gripping her tighter, unaware of anything except the fact that she wasn't trying to resist him this time, and deciding that she was safe, she relaxed into his embrace, returning his kiss when he lifted his head to kiss her.

"Me too," she confessed when they broke apart for air, sitting up in his lap so that she could unbutton his shirt, but as he pulled her back down against him, nuzzling her throat, his hands slipping beneath the hem of her own, she began to panic.

He knew her body almost as well as his own: the width of her hips, the shape of her breasts, the tautness of her abs. If she let things continue the way that they were headed, he would notice the changes and it wouldn't take him long to figure out what was causing them…

"_Stop_. We have to stop, Jack," she told him, pulling away abruptly, yanking her t-shirt back into place when he let go.

"Kate, what…?" he stammered, sitting up and running a hand over his hair, his dark eyes full of confusion… and something else. He was hurt. He couldn't understand why she didn't want this as much as he did. "Did I do something?"

"No, I just… can't," she told him, hating herself for leading him on: for revving him up only to change her mind. But more than that, for allowing him to believe that she wasn't interested. That she didn't lie awake at night thinking about it. "I'm sorry – I guess I'm just not ready."

"It's okay, Kate, it's fine," he agreed, pulling his shirt back on, but as she watched him focus his attention on closing each of the buttons, she saw the muscles in his jaw clench, and she knew that it wasn't.

Far from it.

"Jack? I'm sorry," she repeated, kneeling beside him to touch his arm, drawing back when she caught the look on his face.

"I'm the one who should be apologising, Kate," he said after a long moment, his eyes fixed on the wall of the tent. "You lost our baby – you almost died. How could I even think about putting you through that again?"

He swallowed hard, struggling to keep his anger contained as he left her on the bed alone, and touching her stomach, feeling the slight protrusion there, she felt a stab of pain in her heart at the knowledge that he was beating himself up for just wanting to be closer to her.

* * *

"He wants to have sex," Kate blurted out that night as Juliet put her through the usual series of tests. As soon as the words left her mouth, she was afraid that she would see it as an abuse of their arrangement, but she wasn't sure who else to talk to.

"Well Kate, there's no reason that you can't," Juliet told her as she made another notation on her chart, but the rough way she tore the blood pressure cuff from her bicep contradicted her neutral tone, assuring Kate that she was indeed pushing it.

"Yes, there is," she insisted, lifting her shirt to stare critically at the ridge in her abdomen that seemed to have risen overnight. She had hoped to go at least another month without showing, until they were certain that the treatment would work, but with each day that passed it was becoming more and more noticeable that she was pregnant. Soon it would be unmistakeable. "I have to do something to convince him that things are still the same between us, but if he sees me, he's gonna know."

"So tell him," Juliet insisted, putting her instruments down and turning to face her when she didn't answer, knowing that she was right. He had to find out eventually. She was running out of time.

"Kate, you're almost fifteen weeks along," she reminded her in a softer tone, leaning back against the bench. "That's longer than any other pregnant woman has survived on this island. Your nausea has stopped, your respiratory system seems to be working fine and you're not in a coma. It's not necessary for you to keep it from him anymore – in fact, given the stress that it's putting you and your baby under, I wouldn't advise it."

"I don't even know what I would say to him," she confessed, fighting back the tears that sprung to her eyes every time she saw the look on his face when he realised that he'd been manipulated. They were supposed to be past that. "I didn't just lie about taking the pill – I've been lying to him for weeks, putting him through hell. What if he can't forgive me? What if he doesn't want me – either of us?"

As she tried to sit upright, her free hand falling across her stomach, she was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness, and she had to lie back again. She didn't know how high it was, but the fever seemed to be getting worse: she could feel herself sweating, but her skin was like ice, and she found herself dimly wondering if Juliet had put the air conditioning on inside the hatch. It shouldn't be this cold…

"Kate? Are you okay?" she heard her ask, her voice rising in concern when she sank back against the headrest, closing her eyes as she waited for it to pass. "I think what we _should_ be talking about are these new symptoms…"

"It's nothing – I'm fine," she managed to choke out, afraid that Juliet would refuse to keep treating her if she thought that the risk had increased, but she didn't feel fine at all.

* * *

Next chapter: Kate and Juliet bond over the sex of the baby as Kate's health takes a turn for the worst, and in Chapter 11, the moment you've all been waiting for: Jack finds out!... ;)


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews. I'm still amazed by the response! Not long now... ;)

* * *

Chapter 10.

Despite her assurances that she was fine, Juliet found herself growing increasingly concerned about Kate. The slight fever that she had developed early in her second trimester was still with her almost two weeks later; in fact, each reading that she took showed that it had risen higher, pushing 104 by the time she reached her fourth month.

"I think I'm going to have to prescribe something," she told her when she saw that it had climbed another half a degree in the past twenty-four hours. She had been holding off on medicating her until she was sure that it wouldn't effect the treatment, but time was running out for her and her baby.

"But what about the injections?" Kate asked, pushing herself up onto her elbows so that she could see her face better. "I thought you said the fever meant they were working?"

This was exactly the kind of situation Juliet had tried to warn her about when she insisted that they go ahead with them. "It shouldn't be this high," she confessed, checking the thermometer again to be sure that she wasn't mistaken. 104.5. Just like the last time. If they were back in the real world, she would have recommended that she be hospitalised.

"At sixteen weeks, your baby's nervous system is still developing," she told her, hoping that this would help her see how serious it was. "If I let it go, the risk of it developing serious psychological and behavioural problems later in life increases… Is that really what you want?"

"A fever can do all that?" Kate asked with a dubious frown, and for once, Juliet could see that she was winning the argument.

"It can," she confirmed, softening when she was sure that this wasn't a chance that she was prepared to take: not after everything they'd been through to make sure that it was healthy, "so why don't you at least let me give you some Tylenol? It won't hurt the baby, and it shouldn't interfere with the treatment."

Kate might be stubborn, and reckless at times, but to Juliet's relief, she wasn't stupid. "Okay," she agreed, accepting the pills that she tipped into her palm.

She popped them into her mouth, throwing them back with a swig from the glass Juliet left her, her eyes widening with surprise as she choked out, "Whoa."

Glancing in her direction, seeing how agitated she looked, Juliet stopped what she was doing, turning her attention back on her. "What, Kate? Maybe you should lie down…" she told her, afraid that she was having another dizzy spell, but Kate shook her head, her hand flying to her belly, to the bump that seemed to get bigger each time Juliet saw her. Another week or so and the whole camp would know.

"No, it was this weird fluttering," she explained, wrinkling her nose in confusion, "like something flicking me from the inside… Was that…?"

She looked so excited that Juliet couldn't help but smile. "That's your baby, Kate," she agreed. "She's moving."

It took Kate a moment to register what she'd said, and then she stared at her, stunned. "She?"

"She," Juliet agreed with a grin, watching her face light up with happiness. "You're having a girl." She hadn't planned to tell her until she asked again, but it felt like the right time to make it official.

"A girl." Kate's eyes glistened as they travelled down to the place where her hand rested. "I'm having a girl," she repeated, half laughing, half sobbing, overcome with the news that it was finally real.

Shifting her hand to the other side, she froze over a particular spot, and concerned that she was in pain, Juliet moved over to her, but before she could ask, Kate snatched hold of her wrist, replacing her palm with her own. "There… do you feel her?"

Pushing down, she felt a slight pulse beneath Kate's skin. "Yeah," she agreed, laughing as it grew more distinct. "She's perfect, Kate. You're very lucky."

She didn't realise how fitting these words were until after she'd said them. Already, Kate had the love of one of the bravest, most passionate, genuinely good men Juliet had ever known, and soon she would have his baby as well.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, taking her hand back when the moment had passed, and she saw that Kate didn't look happy. "This is the part most mothers look forward to."

"I know," she agreed, swiping at the tears that clung to her lashes, threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. "I was just thinking about Jack. He should be here."

"Does that mean you're ready to tell him?" she asked, her heart going out to the younger woman despite her own conflicting feelings, surprised and relieved when she answered, "Yeah, I think I am," with a weak smile.

"I just have to figure out how," she confessed, and even though she still looked terrified, Juliet could see her resolve building.

"Then maybe he can be here next time," she told her, giving her hand an impulsive squeeze as she straightened, returning to the task at hand.

"Now I just need to do some more blood work, to make sure that everything is still on track, and then when you're ready you can go back to the beach."

* * *

Kate was still quiet as Juliet closed up the doors to the medical station.

"So now that you know what you're having, have you given any thought to what you want to call her?" she asked as they trudged along the familiar path in silence, hoping to elicit a more enthusiastic response than she had during the rest of the exam. It was clear from her behaviour that something was bothering her, but then Juliet figured that she was probably still nervous about Jack.

"I think I was afraid to before, in case I jinxed it," she confessed when Juliet stopped to wait for her, the words slurred as she struggled to catch her breath, "and now I just wanna wait, see what Jack says. If he wants to name her, he can – after everything I put him through, I owe him that much."

She seemed to be having trouble talking and moving at the same time; Juliet let the conversation taper off, eager to get her back to camp so that she could send her to bed. The fever had settled at 101, which still wasn't great, but it was better – at least in the short term.

"Juliet…?

It wasn't until she stepped out onto the beach that she realised Kate wasn't following, standing on the path a few feet behind her. "Yes, Kate?" she asked, halting in her tracks when it hit her that something was wrong. Something more than her fear of Jack's reaction.

"I don't… I don't feel so good…" she murmured, paling in the moonlight, one hand falling to her stomach while the other scrubbed at her eyes, and Juliet saw that she was trembling.

If she was having chills, then that meant that the Tylenol wasn't working, and the fever had spiked again…

"It's okay," she told her, glancing around at the tents, making a quick decision to take her to her own shelter instead, since it was at least ten yards closer. From there, she would be able to get Jack. He was better in a crisis. He would know what to do.

"It's okay," she repeated, trying to keep her voice calm, soothing, as she rushed back over to her side. "Just a few more steps…"

Kate didn't seem to hear her, swaying on the spot, the little colour that remained draining from her freckled cheeks. "Something's wrong."

"Kate? Kate, are you okay?" she pressed when she realised what was coming, gripping her arm to steady her, the heaviness in her chest increasing when she felt how overheated her skin was. "You need to tell me what's happening… Kate!"

But it was too late.

Instead of catching herself this time, Kate's eyes rolled back, and she slipped through Juliet's hands, crumpling to the sand.

* * *

If anyone's wondering, I have a name already picked out...

Next chapter: Jack finds out about Kate's pregnancy and the treatment! ;)


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews. :) As promised, here is the pivotal Jack chapter. I hope it was worth the wait! I'm going to _try_ to get an update of "Not Anymore" posted some time in the next few days -- I'm beginning to remember why I vowed never to write two fics at once after "Hide And Seek" and "Going Back"! The only reason I've been giving this one more attention is that most of you seem more interested and eager to read it...

Oh, and for anyone who hasn't already, go over to DarkUFO's spoiler section and check out the comment Damon Lindelof made about the season finale in the latest issue of _The Official Lost Magazine!_ I have no idea what it means yet but I'm happy to speculate! ;)

* * *

Chapter 11.

"Jack! _Jack_!" a voice hissed from somewhere beside him, and Jack jerked awake, rolling over to find himself face to face with a frantic Juliet.

"Juliet, what're…?" he asked, blinking at her in confusion, surprised to see her inside his tent.

"You need to come with me – it's Kate," she insisted, and for a moment, he wondered if he was having a nightmare, until he glanced over at her side of the bed and saw that it was empty.

"What's going on, Juliet? Where is she?" he asked, sitting bolt upright, his heart in his throat as he thought of everything that could have happened to her.

But she was already scrambling back the flap, hurrying in the direction of the tree line.

She didn't slow down until they reached the path into the jungle, and then, he saw her – Kate – lying on her side in the sand, her eyes closed, her dark curls fanning out around her, and for one brief, heart-stopping moment, he was sure that he'd lost her.

"What happened?" he demanded when Juliet just stood there, shell-shocked, her face almost as pale as Kate's. "What were you doing out here?"

"She just… collapsed. She was fine and then…" she stammered as he dropped to his knees beside Kate's still form, pressing his ear to her lips, grateful when he felt her exhale.

It wasn't until he let out the breath he was holding himself that he realised how hot she was. "She's burning up," he muttered, half to Juliet, half to himself, as he set his palm against her cheek, then her forehead, lifting her so that she was cradled against him.

"Kate? Kate, can you hear me?" he asked, hoping to draw out some kind of response, but she remained limp, senseless, her head lolling against his shoulder and settling there.

How long had she been sick? He didn't know. Things had been so tense between them that he hadn't noticed if she was quieter or more than lethargic than usual.

"Jack… Jack, there's something you should know," Juliet said when she recovered, her voice losing confidence when his eyes locked on hers, waiting for her to give him an explanation. "She's pregnant."

He felt as if someone had pulled the earth out from under him. Pregnant? How could she be pregnant?

"No, that's not possible," he told her, shaking his head, his mouth going dry as he glanced back down at Kate. "We haven't… Not since we lost the baby." There was that time in the tent, but they hadn't gone through with it. She couldn't be pregnant. At least, if she was, there was no way that he could be the father…

"She didn't lose the baby, Jack," Juliet told him softly, "She lied to you – we both did," and it took him a moment to realise what she was saying.

She wasn't pregnant again. She was pregnant _still_, which meant…

"So what's wrong with her?" he pressed, his heart racing as he did the math. She was eight weeks before. She had to be at least twice that now.

Pushing up her shirt, he studied her distended abdomen – something that she clearly hadn't wanted him to see. At a guess, he would have put her around the middle of her second trimester, and they'd buried Sun long before that.

"I don't know," Juliet told him, tears springing to his eyes, but all he could feel was a kind of muted rage. How could she do this to him? Either of them? How could they act like he wanted didn't matter?

"What do you mean you _don't know_?" he spat. "Isn't this what Ben brought you here for? To fix this?" All the stories she'd fed him, about Kate and what she was going through... She seemed to have an answer for everything except the one thing that really counted.

"Her symptoms aren't the same as the other women's," she explained, her voice rising in desperation as he turned away from her in disgust. "Jack, I've never seen anything like this. She shouldn't even be alive."

"So why is she?" he asked, a dull edge creeping into his tone as patted her cheeks, giving her shoulders a gentle shake, trying again in vain to get her to wake up. The symptoms might not be the same, but the outcome would be. She was dying. She had to be.

"I've been treating her," Juliet went on, and he felt a tiny glimmer of hope, until she added, "I found a way to alter her immune system – to keep her white blood cells from dropping – but there were… side effects…"

"I'd say this is a pretty serious side effect," he retorted, fixing her with a sharp look as he covered the rise in Kate's belly with his palm. He couldn't feel anything.

"She was okay when I examined her an hour ago, Jack," Juliet insisted, as if to assure him that none of this was her fault. As if she hadn't held him in the jungle while he cried for something that he was never really in danger of losing. Not until now. "The fever was going down—"

"We need to take her back," he told her, cutting her off. He wasn't going to stand by and watch it happen. He couldn't.

Still supporting Kate with one hand, he slipped the other one under her knees, lifting her up against him, surprised at how much heavier she'd become. While the fact that she'd put on weight hadn't escaped his notice, he figured that it was because she was depressed. Juliet had warned him that she might be different, because of the baby: it had never occurred to him that theses change might be due to its continued existence.

"Jack, it's the middle of the night!" she complained, scurrying alongside him as he started for the jungle, as fast as he could without increasing the risk to Kate and the baby. "Don't you think it would be better for her if we let her rest?"

"I think we need to find out what we're dealing with," he argued, refusing to spend the night in limbo, waiting to see whether her condition would improve, or just get worse.

He was grateful when she didn't seem to see the sense in pushing the point once his mind was made up, falling into step behind him as he wove his way through the jungle.

A few times he almost took a wrong turn in his haste, heading towards the caves, or the hatch, or any number of dead ends, but she helped guide him back on track, holding the doors open so that he could pass through once they reached their destination.

He hadn't been to the medical station since the day she'd told them that Kate was pregnant, but it seemed darker now, bleaker and more depressing, the source of endless bad news. The last time he'd set foot there it was to hear that he was losing her, and tonight wasn't shaping up to be any different.

Inside the examination room, he eased her down on the bed, smoothing the damp curls back from her face. She still hadn't moved, or made a sound, and he worried that she never would: that he would never hear her voice again, or see her smile, or understand why she felt like she couldn't tell him the truth.

"I'm going to need you to open her mouth for me. I want to take her temperature again," Juliet said, returning to his side with a thermometer in one hand, a stethoscope around her throat, more confident, and less timid, now that she was back in her own environment.

Cupping Kate's chin in his palm, he parted her lips with his thumb, his chest tightening as he watched the red line settle at 108. Most fevers were between 103 and 106 degrees. It was no wonder that she was so out of it: he couldn't remember ever seeing one that high.

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but aside from the fever, there's nothing actually wrong with her. Everything else is normal," Juliet confessed, sliding the stethoscope from around her neck and setting it down on the tray once she finished checking her vitals. "Her heart rate's good, her blood pressure is a little high, but nothing to be concerned about. She's not sick, Jack. Not in the way that she should be. If we can cool her down, get her strength up…"

His knees gave out on hearing these words, and he sank onto the stool by the bed, throwing his head back as he basked in his relief.

"What about the baby?" he asked once the news that Kate's death wasn't written in stone had finished sinking in, and he remembered his fear when he couldn't feel it moving. Losing it once was hard enough. He couldn't go through that again. It couldn't all be for nothing… "Is it okay too?"

"Just give me a second and we'll find out," Juliet replied with an encouraging smile, but he noticed that she was careful not to answer one way or the other as she hooked up the monitor.

"Whatever happens, I just want you to remember that she did well to get this far," she said as she applied the gel, and he knew she was preparing him for the worst, but as she set the wand against Kate's skin, the room was filled with the steady pulse of a heartbeat.

"That's good – strong," she announced, her expression lighting up with surprise, and as she moved it to get a clearer picture, Jack could make out the curve of its head, its arms and legs, and the string of pearls that made up its spine. It looked like it was asleep, but as he watched, he saw it shift, adjusting its position as if it were trying to get comfortable. He wondered if Kate could feel it.

"Would you like me to tell you what it is?" Juliet asked him, and he felt a little thrill of excitement. It didn't matter – not after everything they'd been through to make sure that it was alive and healthy – but somehow the idea that his child had a gender, the beginnings of an identity, made it seem more real.

"Does Kate know?" he checked, since he'd never had the chance to discuss it with her. If she wanted to wait to find out, then he would to.

"Yeah, she does," she agreed, and he nodded, eager to hear more good news.

"It's a girl," she told him, and he felt his own face breaking into a grin, to match hers. "That's your daughter, Jack."

* * *

Next chapter: Jack and Kate talk about what Kate did, and the baby... ;)


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews. I'm so glad you all liked it! :) My mother is going into hospital on Wednesday, so I can't promise that my updates will be as regular until things settle down again, which should be some time early next week. I can probably only fit in one more before then, so let me know if you have a preference, since I still haven't gotten around to another chapter of "Not Anymore"! ;)

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Chapter 12.

The first thing Kate became aware of was something cool and damp resting over her forehead. Everything ached, and her arm felt like it was made of concrete as she tried to bring her hand up to touch it, giving up and letting her eyes flutter open instead.

A blurred figure loomed at the edge of her vision; forcing herself to focus on it, she saw that it was Juliet, her blue eyes wide with excitement.

She was sure that she remembered leaving the medical station for the beach, but she was so tired: she must have blacked out during her exam and dreamed it.

"The baby…?" she asked, trying to sit up when she couldn't hear her heart beating, and it was only then that she noticed that the walls weren't the stark white of the examination room, but blue tarps like the ones from the plane.

"She's fine, Kate. I did a scan, and you'll be happy to know that everything is exactly where it should be," Juliet told her with a warm smile, but this did nothing to stop the panic from setting in.

"I don't understand… Where am I?" she asked, gripping her head when everything started to dim. "What happened?"

"You passed out in the jungle, but it's okay, you're safe now," Juliet assured her, taking hold of her arm and guiding her back down onto the bed. Setting the compress aside, she unscrewed the cap from a bottle of water and lifted it to Kate's lips. "You're in Jack's tent."

Kate was still too weak to fight her so she latched onto it, allowing the cool liquid to trickle down her throat, almost choking on it when the full meaning behind Juliet's words hit her and she sucked in a breath. "Jack…?" she spluttered. "You told him?"

She wouldn't… would she?

"I had to," she agreed. "You had a fever of more than 108 degrees. You've been out for two days, Kate. I was starting to think you were never going to wake up."

Two days.

She'd been unconscious for two days.

Kate swallowed hard, her eyes closing in defeat. He hated her now. Jack. That's why Juliet was there, taking care of her instead of him. He probably didn't want anything more to do with her after the way she'd deceived him.

"Where is he?" she asked, not sure that she wanted the answer. No matter his personal feelings, he was always a doctor first and foremost. It wasn't like him to take off at a time like this.

Juliet seemed to sense her distress, studying her with a sympathetic look as she explained, "He hasn't slept since it happened. I sent him to your tent to rest. If you'd seen him, you would have too."

"He doesn't… He was here?" Kate almost sobbed in her relief at hearing that he hadn't left her side by choice, squeezing her eyes shut against the tears that had already begun to slide down her cheeks. She wasn't sure where she stood with him – what he was going to do – but the fact that he still cared had to mean _something_…

"I'm going to go get him, okay?" Juliet told her, pushing herself to her feet, looking uncomfortable at witnessing such a private moment. "He'll want to know you're awake."

She disappeared before Kate could recover enough to protest, leaving her to wonder what she was going to say to him when he arrived. Sorry didn't even begin to cover what she'd done to him, and it was a lie, because she wasn't: not when the risk had paid off, and her baby was alive.

Now that she was still, she could feel the same gentle tapping that she had at the medical station. Lifting her shirt, probing the bare skin with her fingertips, she smiled at how much stronger the sensation was: inside _and_ out.

In hindsight, she would have been sorrier if she'd listened to him.

When it seemed like an eternity had passed without any sign of Jack or Juliet, she began to worry that all of the attention he'd given her was due to the fact that he felt responsible for her and their child, but then there he was, fighting back a tide of emotions as he drank her in, and she saw what Juliet had meant. His expression was grave and worn; he looked like he'd aged ten years since the last time she saw him.

"What were you thinking, Kate?" he asked her as he took Juliet's place at her bedside. His voice was soft – free of the accusation she'd braced herself for – but the pain in carried almost made her wish that he'd decided to yell.

Maybe if he did, she wouldn't feel this guilty. Maybe then she could convince herself that he'd deserved it.

"I don't know," she confessed when he recovered himself enough to fix her with an expectant look. She could see the tears in his eyes, and more sprung to her own. "I just knew I couldn't do what you were asking me to. I wanted our baby to at least have a chance."

She wasn't sure if it was because she'd gotten through to him somehow, or because he didn't have the strength to fight her, but he nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't like it," she told him, her own anger returning when she thought of how uncompromising his stance had been at the time. He hadn't wanted to talk about it until afterwards. He just wanted to fix the problem before it got beyond his control.

"Can you blame me?" he asked, still in the same wounded tone, reaching for her hand, and she softened towards him when his voice broke over the next words. "I almost lost you."

"But you didn't," she reminded him, her heart going out to him as she squeezed back with as much force as she could muster. "I'm still here – and so it she."

Keeping their hands joined, she laid them over her belly with hers on top so that his palm was cupping the place where their daughter was enclosed.

The next time she felt her shift, the movement caused a slight ripple close to the surface, and he smiled, getting down on his knees to apply more pressure, first with his hand, then by resting his ear against it.

She wasn't sure what he was listening for – or hearing – but his expression lit up when the baby kicked harder, and he let out a soft chuckle, grazing the area with his lips before replacing her shirt.

"You know, I'm still not sure I understand why you didn't just take my advice for once in your life," he confessed, sitting up, his eyes shining when they met hers this time, "but I'm glad that you didn't."

* * *

Next chapter: Juliet deals with her conflicting feelings about Jack and Kate's reconciliation, and it's her turn to justify her actions to Jack!... ;)


	13. Chapter 13

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Thanks for the reviews. For anyone who's wondering (or cares!) my mum is doing much better now. This might be a good time to warn you that this fic is winding down. I only ever meant it as a one shot and there really isn't much left to say!

Oh, and I'm not sure how many of you have heard this (or want to hear it!) but Damon Lindelof just dropped a huge clue about the spectacular "thing" in the season finale -- it happens _off_ the island! And supposedly at least half of it is a Kate flashforward, possibly picking up after Eggtown! ;)

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Chapter 13.

Kate's temperature had dropped to 100 degrees – only slightly above what it should be – but after almost losing her too, Juliet wasn't taking any more chances.

The days she'd spent unconscious were some of the worst of her life. She was pretty sure that, for as long as she lived, she would never forget the look in Jack's eyes as he ran with her through the jungle, or his grave expression as he sat at her bedside hour after hour cooling her overheated skin, waiting for a sign that she hadn't left him.

It was the kind of love that Juliet had only seen a few times before – and she saw a lot of love dealing with so many couples – and it pained her to know that in a different life, she could have had that: had _Jack_. She could have been the one to love him, to comfort and support him; she could have been _his_.

Now she never would be.

She was keeping Kate on bed rest until she was confident that she wouldn't relapse, but with Jack caring for her, only leaving her when she ordered him out to take care of himself, her strength was returning and so was the bond that they'd always shared.

The one Juliet had envied since the first time she saw them together.

The gift she'd given them should have left her with a sense of joy and accomplishment, but while she wanted to be selfless, her heart ached with the knowledge that in less than five months, Kate would give birth to the first girl on the island in seventeen years, and Jack would love her even more for it.

They would be a family, and she would lose him: all because she loved him too much to watch him lose her.

"Hey," a voice said, startling her out of her thoughts, and she flushed when she recognised it as Jack's. If he had any idea what she was thinking, that just for a moment, she'd allowed herself to contemplate how different things might have been for her if she'd failed…

Forcing a neutral look, she turned to see him coming towards her from the direction of the tents.

"Mind if I join you?"

She didn't know how else to answer, so she nodded. "Go ahead."

He lowered himself into the sand beside her, drawing his knees up to his chest. "So this is where you've been hiding," he teased her, even though she wasn't far enough from camp that he couldn't have spotted her. "I feel like I've hardly seen you."

She tried to match his friendly tone, but she couldn't keep the bitterness from creeping into her tone. "Well you've been busy," she reminded him, feeling guilty when she realised how unfair this was. After months of thinking Kate hated him, and then almost losing her, he finally had her back. She couldn't really blame him for wanting to be with her.

"How is she?" she asked, to cover her shame.

"Better. She's asleep now, which is probably for the best. She's starting to drive me a little crazy, asking when she can leave the tent." He shook his head, feigning irritation, but he was grinning, and Juliet could hear the affection in his tone.

As crazy as it drove him, she knew that it was the little things like this – the things that made her challenging – that had led to him choosing her. It didn't make sense, but when had anything where love was concerned?

"She's definitely stubborn," she agreed, uncomfortable with the open adoration she saw in his face when she glanced over at him.

"Tell me about it."

His expression grew serious as he turned to stare out into the dark ocean, and she could see that he wanted to say something. "Listen, I just want to thank you, for everything," he told her when he'd had time to gather his thoughts. "I don't know what I would have done if…" He swallowed hard, leaving her discern his meaning.

It was the conversation that she'd been dreading since the night she confessed everything, including the gamble she'd taken with Kate's treatment. "You should know that I never encouraged her, Jack," she insisted before he could tell her again how stupid it was. "I made the risks very clear from the beginning – in fact, I tried to talk her out of it – but she was so determined. She would have gone through with it with or without my help—"

She trailed off when she realised that he was smiling. "I know."

"You're not going to blame me some more?" she asked, confused by his reaction. She'd spent the past few days bracing herself for anger, hurt, disgust, but not _this_…

Seconds later, it was gone, replaced by that tortured expression she knew all too well. "No. If anything, you should be blaming me."

"What do you mean?" she pressed, touching his arm to get him to look at her when he refused. "Why should I blame you?"

"You saw her… she's…" His face contorted with grief, and she wondered if he still thought Kate was going to die, until he went on, "She's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me and if you and Kate hadn't…"

She could see the tears in his eyes as he struggled to voice the thought that was causing him so much pain, and she felt her heart go out to him. "What kind of man kills his own child because he's afraid to have faith? Kate knew – she tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen."

"You weren't trying to hurt her, Jack – you were trying to _save_ Kate," she reminded him, saddened when he shook his head, clenching his jaw, and she saw that as far as he was concerned these were both the same thing. It shouldn't matter anymore – with Kate's pregnancy intact, it was a moot point – but somehow, it did.

"Sometimes when we love someone so much that we don't know how to be without them, we can't help putting those feelings ahead of everything else – even what they want," she told him, and as she said it, it occurred to her that he wasn't the only one who could benefit from the advice.

While he was struggling to hold onto Kate, she was fighting the same realisation, trying to convince herself that she was what was best for him when he had other ideas. "It isn't always fair, and it isn't right, but it's human. No one ever said letting go was easy."

If Jack had any idea what she was really saying, he was tactful enough not to acknowledge it. Instead, he flashed her a lopsided grin as they both allowed for this to sink in. "Are you a doctor, or a philosopher?"

She pretended to consider this for a moment, before grinning back. "Maybe a little of both."

As they continued to sit in companionable silence, she realised that while it wasn't everything she'd hoped for, she was grateful to have him in her life. It made being marooned on the island a little less lonely.

"I'm gonna go see if Kate's awake, take her something to eat before she decides to get it herself," he told her after a while, getting to his feet.

"You wanna join us?" he added as an afterthought. "Maybe you can explain to her why it's in her best interests to stay in bed."

He held his hand out to her with a hopeful smile, and seeing how determined he was to include her, she took it. It wouldn't always be easy, and it might not be as satisfying, but if she couldn't be his, she could at least settle for being his friend.

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

Next chapter(s): I could have left it there but I know you all want to see the baby so now that Juliet has gained what she needed from the experience, and Kate and the baby are out of danger, I'm going to skip ahead a few months to the birth and the name... ;)


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for the reviews. This chapter takes place around five months after the last one. I wasn't sure whose perspective I wanted to do it from, so I decided to split it. It's got some Jate, Jacket, Kuliet and Jate/Juliet and Jaby bonding, so it should make everyone happy. ;)

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Chapter 14.

A soft whimper cut into Jack's dream, and he snapped his eyes open to find Kate doubled over beside him, gripping her lower belly with both hands. He could see her clamping her teeth down on her bottom lip to keep from making too much noise, and it hit him that she was crying, the tears leaving shining tracks down her cheeks.

Instantly he was on alert, scrambling upright. "Hey. Hey," he murmured, his throat closing up when he reached over to touch her and felt how damp her blanket was. Was that blood? Was she bleeding? "I need you to tell me what's wrong," he managed to choke out.

It took her a moment to answer, and then she turned to him, her eyes wide. "It hurts, Jack."

Fumbling for his torch, he was relieved when a quick examination failed to turn up a tell tale crimson stain. "Can you describe it for me?" he pressed, forcing himself to remain calm until she gave him something to work with. "Tell me where it hurts."

"My back," she explained, squeezing her eyes shut. "And here." She drew in a sharp breath, pushing the heel of her palm into her abdomen, and her voice broke as she added, "It feels like I'm being torn apart."

His panic ebbed as he put this description together with the puddle beneath her. "It's okay, Kate," he assured her, smoothing the bangs from her forehead to soothe her. "Those are contractions. You're in labour."

"Are you sure?" she asked him, cracking her eyes open to shoot him a dubious look. "Because it could just be a false alarm…"

There was a hopeful note in her tone, but while something like that would explain the pain, it couldn't account for the fact that her water had broken. She was definitely in the early stages of labour.

"I'm sure," he agreed, smiling despite himself. It was finally happening. After months of uncertainty, they were finally going to meet their little girl.

He cupped the sides of her jaw in his palms, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'm going to get Juliet for you, okay?" he told her, bowing his forehead against hers. "Just stay here and try to relax."

She nodded, and kissing her again, he slipped out of tent, striding purposefully towards Juliet's.

* * *

Now that she knew what labour pains felt like, Kate was sure that she'd never experienced anything so agonising in her life. She hadn't expected it to hurt so much so soon, like her insides were being pulled apart and pushed back together, over and over again, until she wondered how anyone could endure it for eighteen hours straight.

The thought made her shudder, and regret everything that she'd put her own mother through.

She almost bit Juliet's head off when she opened the examination by asking her how she was doing, even though she knew that it was just part of her bedside manner. She'd always found it comforting – a sign that underneath her tough exterior was a good, kind heart – but right now, she didn't want her to talk.

She didn't want her to touch her either – her or Jack. It seemed like their were hands everywhere, invading her personal space as Jack helped her out of her damp clothes and into clean ones and they took turns poking and prodding at her while they discussed her in words and phrases that made her feel left out.

No one was talking to her. They were only talking to each other, and that scared her. What if something was wrong?

"We still have time. I want to take her to the medical station to give birth," Juliet told Jack, and he started shaking his head before she had even finished explaining.

"No, Juliet. She's not leaving the beach. If—"

"Her immune system is already weak from the injections, Jack," Juliet continued as if he hadn't spoken, "and now that her cervix is open, the risk of her picking up an infection is extremely high. I'd feel better if we got her somewhere sterile, where I can monitor her and the baby. I don't want to take any more chances."

"If Ben finds out where we are—" he argued, but Juliet cut him off.

"He won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"He's all the way on the other side of the island, Jack," she assured him, seeming to lose patience with him as she added, "We don't have a lot of time."

"All the more reason for us to stay here," he insisted, and as another gut-wrenching contraction ripped through her, Kate felt something inside of her snap.

She couldn't listen to any more of their squabbling. She just wanted this over with. "Shut up! Just shut up, okay?" she cried, forcing herself to sit up, and they both turned to her, startled, as though they'd forgotten that she was still in the room.

"Were you even going to ask me, since _I'm_ the one having this baby?" she reminded them, ignoring Jack's wounded expression as she shifted her attention to Juliet. "Are there drugs at the medical station?"

The corners of Juliet's lips quirked with amusement. "Yes, Kate, there are drugs."

After seeing what Claire went through in giving birth to Aaron, this was all Kate needed to hear. "Then what're we waiting for?" she told her, accepting her arm as she struggled to her feet.

"_Kate_," Jack called after her in a warning tone, trailing behind them as they started out of the tent, towards the jungle.

It was taking all of Kate's strength to keep from collapsing into a heap, so she was relieved when Juliet answered for her.

"I know you're scared, Jack, and that's understandable," she said gently, regarding him with a sympathetic smile, "but Kate asked me to be her doctor, and what she needs from you now is for you to take a step back and let me do my job."

He still didn't look happy, but as he let these words sink in, he nodded, slipping his arm around Kate's waist so that she could lean against him. "Okay," he told them. "Let's go."

* * *

Juliet handed Kate a paper gown once they were in the examination room, and with Jack's help she changed into it and settled back on the bed.

"Everything looks good," Juliet told her when she finished examining her, surprised by how fast her labour was progressing. She expected to be there until morning before anything happened, but like her parents, the baby seemed to have her own ideas. "So good, in fact, that I'm going to have to ask you to start pushing."

All of the colour drained from Kate's face, leaving it almost as white as her gown. "You said if I came here you'd give me drugs," she spluttered in between contractions.

"I know," Juliet assured her, feeling guilty for making her walk all that way as she added, "but that was when I thought we had more time. The baby's coming _now_, Kate. You're fully dilated – you're ready."

Kate gave her head a vehement shake at these words, her eyes filling with tears.

"Yes, you are," Juliet insisted, her heart sinking when she realised that Kate wasn't going to cooperate. "You can do this, Kate. You _have_ to do this."

Her helplessness increased when Kate started to cry. "No, I _can't_," she sobbed, dropping her head into her hands. "The puking and the dizziness and the shots… I almost _died_. I can't do this anymore. I just want it to be over."

Jack, who had been respecting Juliet's request to let her handle it until then, fixed her with a defiant look, crouching at Kate's side.

"I know," he told her, peeling her hands away and squeezing them. "I know." He took her jaw in his fingers, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, brushing a curl out of her eyes. "But you're almost there – that's why you need to do this."

He shifted one of his hands to her belly, cupping it in his palm. "Just this one last thing, okay? Then you can hold her."

Still holding his gaze, she nodded tearfully, and watching him reach up to pull her into a tender kiss, Juliet felt a stir of that old jealousy. There were still moments like these when it hurt her to see them together, but after everything she'd been through, she couldn't begrudge Kate that comfort.

"Good, Kate," she told her with a reassuring smile, forcing her own feelings back as Jack straightened. "Now, on the count of three, I want you to push as hard as you can. One… two…"

Kate sucked in a deep breath, and this time, she did while Jack gripped her hand and whispered words of encouragement.

On the fifth, the baby emerged, and as her cries replaced Kate's, Jack let go of her and moved around to get a better look.

"She's beautiful, Kate," he told her, a broad grin spreading over his face when he returned his attention to her. "Just like you."

Kate pushed herself up on her hands, and seeing how eager she was to catch a glimpse of her daughter, Juliet lifted the baby so that she could see her.

"She is," she agreed, awed, returning Jack's grin as she sank back against the pillows.

Their joy was so infectious that Juliet found herself grinning too. "Would you like to do the honours, Daddy?" she asked Jack, offering him a pair of surgical scissors.

"Sure. Why not?" He accepted them with a smile, and once he'd cut through the cord, and Juliet had finished checking her over, she wrapped the baby in a blanket and handed her to him.

"Hey, lets go see Mommy," he said, kissing her tiny, serious brow as he carried her over to where Kate was waiting.

He settled her on her chest, perching on the edge of the bed, and beaming, Kate inhaled her scent, pressing her lips to the top of her dark head.

"So tell me – is she worth all the puking and the shots?" Jack teased her, and she smiled.

"Yeah," she breathed, leaning in to kiss him, and seeing how ecstatic they were, Juliet finally understood why she'd agreed to help them.

For the first time since arriving on the island, she knew that she'd done something right. She'd given them good news, just like she wanted, and as bittersweet as it all was, it felt better than she ever could have imagined.

"Does she have a name? Or are you going to wait and get a feel for her first?" she asked as she finished cleaning up, so that they could all go back to the beach as soon as Kate recovered her strength.

They both tore their eyes away from the baby, exchanging furtive smiles, and mystified, Juliet flashed them a tentative grin. "What?" Clearly she was missing something.

"Her name is Julia," Kate told her.

It took Juliet a moment to register what she was saying, and then taking in her expectant look, she realised that it wasn't a coincidence. "Kate, are you sure?" she asked her, still in shock.

Kate glanced down at her daughter and smiled. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here, so yeah, I'm sure," she said. "I want her to grow up knowing what you did for us."

Juliet swallowed against the lump in her throat at hearing how grateful Kate was. "Jack?" she checked, looking to him for confirmation.

"I couldn't've put it better myself," he agreed, kissing the top of Kate's head and pulling her tighter against him.

Juliet didn't know what to say, so she just beamed at them, giving up on trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Julia Shephard…" she repeated, testing it out. "It has a nice ring to it."

Jack's expression was thoughtful as he considered this. "It does," he replied with a grin, and Juliet was sure that she'd never seen him look as proud as he did at that moment.

"Do you wanna hold her?" Kate asked, shifting the little pink bundle, and sitting down on the stool by the bed, Juliet nodded.

"Sure," she said, surprised and thrilled at the offer. "That is if you don't mind."

Jack shifted his arm so that Kate could lean forward and she transferred their daughter into Juliet's arms. "This is your Aunty Juliet," she told her with a smile before she let go and settled back into Jack's embrace.

Glancing down at the little girl nestled against her chest – the one she'd helped bring into the world – Juliet decided that she liked the sound of that too. "Hi Julia," she cooed as her tiny matchstick fingers latched onto her blouse. "It's nice to finally meet you."

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So that was it, Good News. I hope you all enjoyed it, and that you liked the name (Sassy and I have been calling her "Baby Juju"!). Please don't forget to review and let me know what you thought of the fic as a whole. Your feedback really helps. I just want to thank those of you who have -- if it wasn't for you, I would have left it as a one shot!

For anyone who's interested, I'll still be working on "Not Anymore" sporadically, and I may start the other idea I mentioned. Basically it's AU Jate, based on the Pride and Prejudice model: _When Diane's cancer spreads to her spine, causing her to develop a tumour, Kate takes her to L.A. for treatment by one of the top spinal surgeons in the country, but what happens when she mistakes his abrupt bedside matter for arrogance and takes an instant dislike to him?_ ;)


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